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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · field · kid · bore · deal · temple · club · bound

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. club — for golf
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. kid — to tease
  5. club — a group
  6. bore — to drill
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bound — obliged
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. club — for dancing
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — a line
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bore — to tire
  19. kid — child
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com